Reading About The Hero The Son of Neptune
by Reality.Isn't.Real
Summary: It's just an average day at Goode High. Percy Jackson's still missing, which makes Bethany sad. But then a stranger comes in with four books, announcing that they will all read them. And everything goes to Tartarus. ON HIATUS.


_**Hey guys. This is my first fanfiction so please go easy on me. Every review is appreciated though, even flames.**_

_**So, recently I edited this, and added a lot of new stuff. I also changed Amanda's name to Reality for obvious reasons (also because everyone asked who 'Amanda' was). Even if you've read this already, please read it again for new stuff!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the bold. Or Paul.**_

_Bethany's POV_

I flipped my golden brown hair over my shoulder and sat down in seat in the back of the room. I watched as students slowly filed in as English started.

A bleary-eyed English teacher shuffled in as the bell rang and he sat down in his seat. He looked up at the students with a sad look that told me that Percy Jackson was not yet found. I was one of Percy's only friends, so I was one of the few that actually cared if Percy was still missing. Apparently, he was.

A soft knock came from the door, and Mr. Blofis stood up to let the person in. A young woman stood in the doorway with four books and a note in her hand.

The girl- looking about my age-was pretty, I had to admit. Her blond hair had turquoise streaks running through it. A nearly unhealthy paleness covered her skin. Ancient silver eyes held enough intelligence in them that you could tell that she was no dumb blonde. She had on black skinny jeans and a silvery shirt with a pitch-black skull on the front that hid her dagger hidden around her waist (Not that I knew that). If anything, this strange girl had a strong aura of power around her.

"You must be Mr. Blofis, step-father of Percy Jackson, am I right?"

She strode through the doorway and stopped at Paul's desk. The girl set the books on his desk with a small _thud_ and looked at him. Paul looked at her with weary eyes and said curiously, "Yes, but why do you mention him?"

"Read the note, and you will know."

She passed him a small piece of paper, and as his eyes scrolled down the paper, his eyes got wider.

While he read, she turned to us.

"Well, since your teacher is currently reading his note, I should explain something to you. While you will say that this is impossible, and that I am crazy, I will assure you that it is possible, and I am completely sane. You all know the Greek and Roman myths?" We nodded and so she continued, "Those very myths, are real."

She waited for that to sink in. I looked around at the other people around me that were opening and closing, like a fish, but no sound came out. It surprised me that nobody protested, even though I didn't. The idea of gods just didn't seem so outrageous to me.

"Anyway, we are about to read some books that are very real. They go, _The Son of Neptune, The Mark of Athena, The House of Hades, _and_ The Blood of Olympus._ They're about the greatest heroes of this millennia. Are you all ready?" We once again nodded, for once excited about reading a book.

"Oh, and by the way, I'm Reality."

**Percy I**

**The snake haired ladies were starting to annoy Percy.**

_Snake haired ladies? What? Who the hell is Percy? Is it our Percy?_

**They should have died three days ago when he dropped a crate of bowling balls at the Napa Bargain Mart.**

"Ouch."

**They should have died two days ago when he ran over them with a police car in Martinez.**

"Double ouch."

**They **_**definitely **_**should have died this morning when he cut off their heads in Tilden Park.**

"Wow, tripl-"

"We get it, it would hurt! Now please, shut up!" I exclaimed loudly.

"Wow he's persistent," Mark commented and several other people muttered their agreement.

"Wait, who is he killing again, and why is he doing it?" I questioned Reality.

She smirked and shook her head, saying, "You'll find out soon enough."

**No matter how many times Percy killed them and watched them crumble to powder, they just kept reforming like large evil dust bunnies.**

"Large evil dust bunnies? Really?" My eyebrows shot up in disbelief.

**He couldn't even seem to outrun them. He reached the top of the hill and caught his breath. How long since he'd killed them? Maybe two hours. They never seemed to stay dead longer than that.**

**The last few days, he'd hardly slept. He'd eaten whatever he could scrounge-vending machine gummy bears, stale bagels, even a jack in the Crack burrito, which was a new personal low.**

"He _had_ to be desperate to have one of those burritos."

I silently agreed in my head. One of my friends had had one once, and persuaded me to try it. I shuddered at the mere thought of it.

**His clothes were torn, burned, and splattered with monster slime.**

"EW!" Avery, the head cheerleader screeched. Sometimes it seemed that all she cared about were clothes, makeup, and hair. _**(A/N Sorry about the stereotype. I hope nobody hates me for this…)**_

**He'd only survived this long because the two snake haired ladies-gorgons, they called themselves- couldn't seem to kill them either. Their claws didn't cut his skin. Their teeth broke whenever they tried to bite him. But Percy couldn't keep going much longer. Soon he'd collapse from exhaustion, and then, as hard as he was too kill, he was pretty sure the gorgons would find a way.**

I grew confused at the mention of a gorgon. Clearly, I hadn't heard of it before now. Behind me, somebody I didn't recognize voiced my question.

"What's a gorgon?"

"They're a type of monster in Greek mythology. You know who Medusa is, right?" she paused as she surveyed our answers. Nearly all of the class nodded. "The gorgons were her sisters. They looked a bit like she did, only they had boar tusks."

Avery scrunched up her nose in disgust. "That must clash horribly with their blush."

"If she isn't a daughter of Aphrodite-," Reality muttered, shaking her head.

**Where to run?**

**He scanned his surroundings. Under different circumstances, he might have enjoyed the view. To his left, golden hills rolled inland, dotted with lakes, woods, and a few herds of cows. To his right, the flatlands of Berkley and Oakland marched west- a vast checkerboard of neighborhoods, with several million people who probably did not want their morning interrupted by two monsters and a filthy demigod.**

"What the heck is a demigod?"

"Demigods are the offspring of a mortal and a Greek or roman god," Reality immediately replied.

"And how would you know that?"

"I have my sources."

**Farther west, San Francisco bay glittered under a silvery haze. Past that, a wall of fog had swallowed most of San Francisco, leaving just the tops of skyscrapers and the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge.**

**A vague sadness weighed on Percy's chest. Something told him he'd been to San Francisco before. The city had some connection to Annabeth- the only person he could remember from his past. His memory of her was frustratingly dim. The wolf had promised he would see her again and regain his memory- if he succeeded in his journey.**

**Should he try to cross the bay?**

**It was tempting. He could feel the power of the ocean just over the horizon. Water always revived him. Salt water was the best. He'd discovered that two days ago when he had strangled a sea monster in the Carquinez Strait.**

"He strangled a sea monster? I'd hate to get him angry," Ruben whispered in a terrified voice.

Reality looked at him with a very serious expression. "No, you don't." The way she said it made me wonder if she'd seen him angry before. I suddenly had a new respect for Percy; if he could make Reality scared, I knew he had to have some serious power. I hadn't known Reality long, yet I already knew not to mess with her _at all._

**If he could reach the bay, he might be able to make a last stand. Maybe he could even drown the gorgons. But the shore was at least two miles away. He'd have to cross an entire city.**

**He hesitated for another reason. The she-wolf Lupa had taught him to sharpen his senses-to trust his instincts that had been guiding him south.**

"She-wolf?" _Is that like some kind of female werewolf, or is it something completely different?_

**His homing radar was tingling like crazy now. The end of his journey was close-almost right under his feet. But how could that be? There was nothing on the hilltop.**

**The wind changed. Percy caught the sour scent of reptile. A hundred yards down the slope, something rustled through the woods-snapping branches, crunching leaves, hissing.**

**Gorgons.**

Reality cursed in another language. It sounded Greek to me, which would make a lot of sense, actually.

**For the millionth time, Percy wished their noses weren't so good. They had always said they could **_**smell**_** him because he was a demigod- the half-blood son of some old roman god. Percy had tried rolling in mud, splashing through creeks, even keeping air-freshener sticks in his pockets in his pockets so he'd have that new car smell; but apparently demigod stink was hard to mask.**

"Wow, that's some hard stink," Mark joked. I, being the closest to him, slapped him upside the head.

"Wow, you're abusive," he muttered, clutching his aching head.

I smirked and replied, "I try my best."

**He scrambled to the west side of the summit. It was too steep to descend. The slope plummeted eighty feet, straight to the roof of an apartment complex built into the hillside. Fifty feet below that, a highway emerged from the hill's base and wound its way toward Berkley.**

**Great. Now way off the hill. He'd managed to get himself cornered.**

I bit my lip. I had no idea who this guy was, though I still didn't want him to get hurt. He seemed like a pretty cool guy, and I didn't want to lose one of the only people I even kind of liked, _again._

**He stared at the stream of cars flowing toward San Francisco and wished he were in one of them. Then he realized the highway must cut through the hill. There must be a tunnel ….right under his feet.**

**His internal radar went nuts. He **_**was**_** in the right place, just too high up. He had to check out that tunnel. He needed a way down to the highway-fast.**

**He slung off his backpack. He'd managed to grab a lot of supplies at the Napa Bargain Mart: a portable GPS, duct tape, lighter, superglue, water bottle, camping roll, a Comfy Panda Pillow Pet (as seen on TV), and a Swiss army knife- pretty much every tool a modern demigod could want. But he had nothing that would serve as a parachute or a sled.**

"Wow, he stole? Awesome!"

"How is stealing awesome?"

"Because I like it!"

"Shut up, Logan!"

**That left him two options: jump eighty feet to his death, or stand and fight. Both options sounded pretty bad.**

**He cursed and pulled his pen from his pocket.**

"What is a pen going to do?" Avery sneered.

Reality's lips formed a nearly-feral grin. "You'd be surprised."

Avery raised a recently plucked eyebrow at her in a silent question. Reality opted not to answer, instead smirking at the girl.

**The pen didn't look like much, just a regular cheap ballpoint, but when Percy uncapped it, it grew into a glowing bronze sword.**

"Oh!" she squeaked**.**

**The blade balanced perfectly. The leather grip fit his hand like it had been custom designed for him. Etched along the guard was an Ancient Greek word Percy somehow understood: **_**Anaklusmos-**_**Riptide.**

**He'd woken up with this sword his first night at the Wolf House-two months ago? More? He'd lost track. He'd found himself in the courtyard of a burned-out mansion in the middle of the woods, wearing shorts, an orange T-shirt, and a necklace with a bunch of strange clay beads. Riptide had been in his hand, but Percy had had no idea how he'd gotten there, and only the vaguest idea who he was. He'd been barefoot, freezing, and confused. And then the wolves came….**

"I would be very scared during that situation" I admitted.

Reality smiled warmly at me and said, "All of us would be. At least you can admit it." She furrowed hr eyebrows, thinking, and finally asked, "Want to sit on the couch?"

She was referring to the purple cushion that she had laid on for the pas twenty minutes. I shrugged and hopped off the desk, plopping down beside her.

**Right next to him, a familiar voice jolted him back to the present: "There you are!"**

**Percy stumbled away from the gorgon, almost falling off the edge of the hill.**

**It was the smiley one- Beano. .**

"No, there is not a gorgon named Beano."

Logan closed his mouth.

**Okay, her name wasn't really beano. As near as Percy could figure, he was dyslexic, because words got twisted around when he tried to read. The first time he'd seen the gorgon, posing as a Bargain Mart greeter with a big green button that read: **_**Welcome! My name is STHENO, **_**he'd thought it said BEANO.**

**She was still wearing her green Bargain Mart employee vest over a flower-print dress. If you looked just at her body, you might think she was somebody's dumpy old grandmother-until you looked down and realized she had rooster feet. Or you looked up and saw bronze boar tusks sticking out of the corners of her mouth. Her eyes glowed red, and her hair was a writhing nest of bright green snakes.**

"That's not obvious at all," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"Then how come you noticed it?"

Then, Mark got glared at, which was a total surprise considering his behavior. (Not.)

**The most horrible thing about her? She was still holding her big silver platter of free samples: Crispy Cheese 'n' Wieners. Her platter was dented from all the times Percy had killed her, but those little samples looked perfectly fine. Stheno just kept toting them across California so she could offer Percy a snack before she killed him. Percy didn't know why she kept doing that, but if he ever needed a suit of armor, he was going to make it out of Crispy Cheese 'n' Wieners. They were indestructible.**

"l want to do that!"

"Shut up Logan! For once in your life, just be quiet!" Avery nearly screamed, whacking him on the arm.

"Dream killer!"

"**Try one?" Stheno offered.**

**Percy fended her off with his sword. "Where's your sister?"**

"**Oh, put the sword away," Stheno chided. "You know now that even Celestial bronze can't kill us for long. Have a Cheese 'n' Wiener! They're on sale this week, and I'd hate to kill you on an empty stomach."**

"Yes, because you should never kill somebody with an empty stomach. You should wait till they had dinner, then dessert, _then_ you should kill them. But only then. Never before."

They all looked at Reality weirdly.

"**Stheno!" The second gorgon appeared on Percy's right so fast, he didn't have time to react. Fortunately, she was too busy glaring at her sister to pay him much attention. "I told you to sneak up on him and kill him!"**

**Stheno's smile wavered. "But, Euryale…." She said the name so it rhymed with **_**Muriel.**_

"Thank you for telling me how to pronounce the name right. I never would have made it through the book if you hadn't."

"**Can't I give him a sample first?"**

"**No, you imbecile!" Euryale turned toward Percy and bared her fangs.**

**Except for her hair, which was a nest** **of coral snakes** **instead of green vipers, she looked exactly like her sister. Her Bargain Mart vest, her flowery dress, even her tusks were decorated with 50% OFF stickers. Her name tag read: **_**Hello! My name is DIE DEMIGOD SCUM!**_

"That's giving it away. How do people not notice her?!"

"The mist."

"The what?"

Reality did not explain, which left us nearly begging for a straight answer.

"**You've led us on quite a chase, Percy Jackson," Euryale said. "But now you're trapped and we'll have our revenge!"**

"Wait a second, read that line again."

She did.

The whole class was in silence. They had just learned that their classmate, and the person they often picked on was a very dangerous demigod. Many people had bullied him, not knowing what he was or what he could do to them. They had done so much to him, and he could have killed them with only a flick of the wrist.

Reality broke the awkward silence by reading.

"**The Crispy Cheese 'n' Wieners are only $2.99," Stheno added helpfully. Grocery department, aisle three."**

**Euryale snarled. "Stheno, the bargain mart was a **_**front**_**! You're going native! Now, put down that ridiculous tray and help me kill this demigod. Or have you forgotten that he's the one who vaporized Medusa?"**

My mouth fell open. "He vaporized medusa?"

Reality smiled at me.

"When he was twelve."

**Percy stepped back. Six more inches, and he'd be tumbling through thin air." Look, ladies, we've been over this. I don't even **_**remember**_** killing Medusa. I don't remember anything! Can't we just call a truce and talk about your weekly specials?"**

**Stheno gave her sister a pouty look, which was hard to do with giant bronze tusks." Can we?"**

Logan snorted.

"**No!" Euryale's red eyes bored into Percy. "I don't care what you remember, son of the sea god. I can smell Medusa's blood on you. Its faint, yes, several years old, but **_**you **_**were the last one to defeat her. She **_**still**_** has not returned from Tartarus. It's your fault!"**

**Percy didn't really get that. The whole "dying then returning from Tartarus" concept gave him a headache. Of course so did the idea that a ballpoint pen could turn into a sword, or that monsters could disguise themselves with something called the Mist, or that Percy was the son of some barnacle-encrusted god from five thousand years ago. But he **_**did**_** believe it. Even though his memory was erased, he knew that he was a demigod the same way he knew his name was Percy Jackson. From his very first conversation with Lupa the wolf, he'd accepted that this crazy messed-up world of gods and monsters was his reality. Which pretty much sucked.**

"It does," Reality frowned, and her eyes were suddenly filled with terrifying sorrow and pain and sadness. I ached to know why they looked like that, but then she blinked and it was gone. I shook my head and resolved to bring it up later.

"**How about we call it a draw?" he said. "I can't kill you. You can't kill me. If you're Medusa's sisters-like the Medusa who turned people to stone- shouldn't I be petrified by now?"**

"That is a very sore subject with them," Reality winced, shaking her head.

"**Heroes!" Euryale said with disgust. "They always bring that up, just like our mother! 'Why can't you turn people to stone? Your sister can turn people to stone.' Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, boy. That was medusa's curse alone. **_**She **_**was the most hideous one in the family. She got all the luck!"**

**Stheno looked hurt. "Mother said**_** I**_** was the most hideous."**

Reality, Logan, and I let a small chuckle escape us.

"**Quiet!" Euryale snapped. "As for you, Percy Jackson, it's true you bear the mark of Achilles. That makes you a little tougher to kill. But don't worry. We'll find a way."**

"**The mark of what?"**

"**Achilles," Stheno said cheerfully. "Oh, he was **_**gorgeous**_**! Dipped in the River Styx as a child, you know, so he was invulnerable except for a tiny spot on his ankle. That's what happened to you, dear. Someone must've dumped you in the Styx and made your skin like iron. But not to worry. Heroes like you always have a weak spot. We just have to find it, and then we can kill you. Won't that be lovely? Have a Cheese 'n' Weiner."**

"Nice. We will definitely find a way to kill you. Won't that be lovely? Have a snack!"

I tried to hold the laughter in this time, but unfortunately, I could not. The giggle burst out of my mouth and filled the room. At some point I realized that I was the only one laughing, so I quieted down. Though, I still couldn't keep a goofy grin off of my face.

**Percy tried to think. He didn't remember any dip in the Styx. Then again, he didn't remember much of anything. His skin didn't feel like iron, but it would explain how he'd held up so long against the gorgons.**

**Maybe if he just fell down the mountain….. would he survive? He didn't want to risk it-not without something to slow the fall, or a sled, or…**

**He looked at Stheno's large silver platter of free samples.**

**Hmm…**

"He is making a plan. Not a good thing," Mr. Blofis said this, of course.

"**Reconsidering?" Stheno asked. "Very wise, dear. I added some gorgon's blood to these, so your death will be quick and painless.**

**Percy's throat constricted. "You added your blood to the Cheese 'n' Wieners?"**

"**Just a little." Stheno smiled. "A tiny nick on my arm, but you're sweet to be concerned. Blood from our right side can cure anything, you know, but blood from our left side is deadly-"**

"**You dimwit!" Euryale screeched. "You're not supposed to tell him that! He won't eat the wieners if you tell him they're poisoned!"**

**Stheno looked stunned. "He won't? But I said it would be quick and painless."**

"**Never mind!" Euryale's fingernails grew into claws. "We'll kill him the hard way-just keep slashing until we find the weak spot.**

"Let's not!"

"Agreed!"

**Once we defeat Percy Jackson, we'll be more famous than medusa! Our patron will reward us greatly!"**

**Percy gripped his sword. He'd have to time his move perfectly-a few seconds of confusion, grab the platter with his left hand...**

**Keep them talking, he thought.**

"**Before you slash me to bits," he said, "who's this patron you mentioned?"**

"I hate Gaea," Reality muttered before going back to the book.

**Euryale sneered. "The goddess Gaea of course! The one who brought us back from oblivion! You won't live long enough to meet her, but your friends below will soon face her wrath. Even now, her armies are marching south. At the Feast of Fortune, she'll awaken, and the demigods will be cut down like- like-"**

"**Like our low prices at Bargain Mart!" Stheno suggested.**

"**Gah!" Euryale stormed toward her sister.**

"Girl fight!" It was Mark who said this, and it was Mark who received strange looks because of his comment. Logan, though, nodded along with him. They went into a corner and discussed various girl fights. They were promptly ignored.

**Percy took the opening. He grabbed Stheno's platter, scattering poisoned Cheese 'n' Wieners, and slashed Riptide across Euryale's waist, cutting her in half.**

**He raised the platter, and Stheno found her own greasy reflection.**

"**Medusa!" she screamed.**

"Go Perce!" I shouted.

**Her sister Euryale had crumbled to dust, but she was already starting to re-form, like a snowman un-melting.**

"**Stheno, you fool!" she gurgled as her half-made face rose from the mound of dust. "That's just your own reflection! Get him!"**

**Percy slammed the metal tray on top of Stheno's head, and she passed out cold.**

**He put the platter behind his butt, said a silent prayer to whatever Roman god oversaw stupid sledding tricks, and jumped off the side of the hill.**

A figure ran through the door and nearly ran into Reality as she sprang into her seat.

It was a girl with orange hair and freckles like spray painted Cheetos.

The figure was Nancy Bobofit.

_**Did you like it so far? Again, please review, it makes me happy! I might even have the next chapter up by New Years' Day!**_

_**-Reality**_


End file.
